9 Apps You Need to Enjoy Your Cruise Even More

If you love your smartphone as much as you love a cruise then you might want to take a look at my pick of the best cruise apps out there. They will not only make you enjoy your cruise even more, but might come in handy as well.

1. Vyclone
Vyclone is a social video app. And when I say social I mean it. So here's how it works. You film different parts of your cruise, like the afternoon entertainment, how you hang by the pool or as you approach some foreign land. Your footage then gets uploaded to the Vyclone cloud. If there's another person who also used Vyclone on the same cruise - here's the cool part - you get to use their footage to make your film. It's as if you travelled with an entire film crew. Your film can include different angles of the same event or scenes you didn't get to film yourself. I've seen some great short clips made with Vyclone on concerts, I'd love to see some made on a cruise.

2. Pickie Gifts (shopping)
Every time I come back from a cruise there's that "gift expectation" hanging in the air when I meet with my family and friends. Not that I mind, but sometimes it just simply isn't that easy to pick up gifts for everyone. When there are only a couple days left to buy the perfect presents for your parents, siblings, favourite co-workers and best friends and you still have absolutely no clue what to buy, I suggest Pickie Gifts. This app suggests a few intelligent gift ideas based on the person's Facebook profile.

3. Spotify
I simply love to chill on the sun-deck listening to my favourite music. And even though my iTunes collection is quite impressive, when on a cruise I love to discover new sounds. And that's where Spotify comes with help. It's a mobile music app that facilitates sharing music with your Facebook friends. You can choose either the light or the premium version which requires a $10 monthly payment. But with the premium one, you'll be able to download up to 3000 songs that you'll have access to even when not connected to the internet. Listening to your favourite music while working out, laying poolside, or relaxing on the beach makes the experience even better.

4. Postagram (send postcard)
Need to send something meaningful to a faraway pal — in a snap? Use the Postagram iOS, Android or web app to send a postcard with your favourite Instagram, Facebook or mobile photo. When it comes to staying in touch we mostly rely on words, but a picture can also do the trick. Just like postcards did in the pre-digital era. With Postagram you can capture any given moment using photos from Instagram, Facebook or Camera Roll and create a great Postagram. Each Postagram costs only 99 cents to send and... the first three are for free. You simply take the picture, write the message and the app sends your creation anywhere you’d like. This way you turn your favourite vacation pics into cool mementos your friends will love receiving in the mail.

5. Camera+ (group photos)
You're bound to take and be in dozens of group photos on your dream cruise. If you're looking for a solid photo editor that lets you add effects to your images along with a ton of other useful perks, you should download Camera+ app. With this app you can be sure every photo is crisp, focused and shareable. This app offers several options for making unique-looking images out of photos on your camera roll, or you can snap pictures from within the program using its extra tools. When taking a picture, you can use a 6x digital zoom for close-up shots, a stabilizer that automatically takes the shot when your hand is most stable, and a grid overlay so you can line up your shots as straight as possible. A must-have app!

6. Decide (shopping)
When on a cruise you might want to consider buying something more than just presents. You might be tempted by what is advertised as a great deal and that is where Decide App is the best help. The application was intended to give consumers a way to gather honest, unbiased information before purchasing a new camera, computer, phone or other electronic device. This iOS app's custom algorithm recommends whether you should buy an item now or wait for a better price. Scan a product's UPC barcode while in store to compare prices on the web and get an instant prediction that's 77% accurate, according to the team.

7. Cruise Card Control
It's easy to lose track of all the incidental costs that add up over the course of a cruise. Typing daily expenses like tips, excursions, and that round of karaoke-lounge drinks into the Cruise Card Control app each night helps ward off any sail's-end surprises at the purser's desk. Cruise Card Control is an app dedicated to saving you money while on board your cruise ship. You can create categories and keep track of how much is spent and Cruise Card Control will do the rest! You will not have to worry that what seemed to be a paradise holiday turned into a budget disaster.

8. The Weather Channel
Nothing jazzes us up more in the weeks before a cruise than checking the weather at our destinations. And of all the weather apps available, I stick with the experts at the Weather Channel. With over 200 meteorologists and their ultra-local TruPoint(sm) forecasting technology, you can trust them to help you plan the best day possible, with the most accurate WEATHER™ forecast available. The app is thorough, yet easy to use. Use the bookmark function to pre-program your home town, your arrival city and your destinations into the app; you can then see the current weather in all those spots at one quick glance.

9. White Noise Lite
Getting a good night's sleep is one of the things we look forward when going on holiday. But if you happen to have noisy neighbours or an ill-positioned cabin near an elevator, noisy corridor or nightclub you might need some extra help. White Noise provides ambient sounds of the environment to help you relax or sleep. This app allows you to drown out the unwanted noise with 10 more soothing ones, such as a whirring fan or a rainstorm. It has a volume fader and a timer, so you don't need to leave it on all night. And there's one thing I just love – those with inside cabins can play the "beach waves crashing" soundtrack and trick themselves into believing they have an ocean view. How cool is that?!

Got the apps but still looking for your next cruise? Then call one of our Cruising Specialists today on 1300 954 661.

About our guest blogger, Max:

Max is the chief dreamer at http://share.travel/. Having travelled since an early age, he realized that many of his travel memories have now faded. Along with his team he created a framework to save and share travel memories, so the same doesn't happen to you.

Our guest bloggers are experts when it comes to cruising. They are typically cruise consultants or product specialists from one of our 70+ stores. Many of our consultants have had years of experience from working aboard cruise ships throughout the world, long careers in the travel industry or even running their own travel agencies.